The 8-pin connector is also just an outdated design. It's unnecessarily bulky, and rated at a measly 150 W. The idea wasn't for you to put 4 of these (32 pins and wires) together to power a single device.

For reference, an Anderson PP45 connector pair (from 1966!) is smaller than the original 8-pin connector and would handle 660 W at 12V reliably at up to 10000 cycles (and can even handle hot-unplug).